FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 1 December 2020
Contact: Darcy Alexandra, Communications Chair, [email protected]
The 2020 US election saw record turnout, with all states having participation from over 50% of the eligible population. Further, 44 states had voter turnout that broke the 40-year record. President-elect Biden is the first candidate to ever receive 80 million votes, shattering President Obama’s record of 69.5 million votes in 2008.
The voter turnout from abroad was record-breaking in 2020; our members helped candidates across the United States win their races. We look forward to being the margin of victory in the Georgia Senate races on January 5, 2021.
As more states certify their Presidential election results, all eyes are turning towards Georgia, which has the unique status of holding two US Senate runoff elections on January 5, 2021. The race between Sen. David Perdue (R) and Jon Ossoff (D) follows the regular Senate election cycle. The race between Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) and Raphael Warnock (D), however, is a special election following Loeffler’s appointment to fill the vacancy created by Sen. Johnny Isakson in December 2019.
The 2020 election had 35 Senate seats up for election; the current results leave the Democratic party with 48 seats (a gain of one) and the Republicans with 50 (a loss of one). These two Georgia Senate seats will determine the balance of the Senate for the next two years.
Georgia voters cast over 4.9 million ballots in the general election. The runoff election is not expected to have turnout that high, but Democrats Abroad is urging all Georgia voters around the world to check their voting status, request a ballot if necessary, and send it back as soon as possible.
The deadline to register to vote in the January 5, 2021, runoff election is December 7, 2020. If a voter will be 18-years-old by January 5, then they can - and should - register to vote now. Official ballots for this election are already available, so if a voter requests their ballot be sent to them electronically (as recommended), they should receive it quickly.
Georgia requires that all ballots be returned by postal mail or courier service; further, ballots must be received at the election office by January 8, 2021. Electronic returns via email or fax are not allowed. For these reasons, plus the burden on the global postal systems due to holiday shipping and the COVID-19 pandemic, Democrats Abroad Switzerland is recommending that our members use a courier service if possible.
A DACH member in Zurich has generously offered to let Georgia voters in Switzerland use her corporate FedEx account to return their ballots. Voters will still be responsible for the cost of shipping, but the fee will be significantly reduced. Information and resources for this election can be found at https://bit.ly/DACHforGA.
More information about Democrats Abroad Switzerland is available at our website, https://www.democratsabroad.org/ch. We can also be found on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) at @swissdemocrats.
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INFORMATION SHEET
QUICKVIEW STATS and FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Over 19,000 US citizens live in Switzerland; of those, about 15,000 are of voting age.
- DA Switzerland membership has grown by 30% in 2020.
- DA Switzerland has chapters in Zurich, Basel, and Geneva, which are hubs for expats.
- Democrats Abroad is the state Democratic party for overseas Americans.
- We represent the 6.5 million eligible voters overseas (out of 9 million total). That’s a larger population than all but 11 US states.
- We have approximately 200k members in over 190 countries around the world, and 45 active country committees.
- We provide members with tools to help them stand up for democracy in America, through voter registration training, regularly published actions, events and marches, and a friendly community of like minded American citizens living abroad.
- During election years, our focus is to get out the vote and advocate for overseas American issues, through our own members, outreach volunteers, and resources like votefromabroad.org, which helps every American overseas request and receive their ballot.
FAQs
How large is the organization Democrats Abroad?
Democrats Abroad is the largest organization of civilian Americans outside the US. We are 100% volunteer-led, with active chapters across six continents and members who vote in every US state and congressional district.
We represent the 6.5 million eligible voters overseas (out of 9 million abroad, total), with almost 200,000 activists and voters members in over 190 countries around the world. Our extensive reach goes far beyond our 45 country committees through engaged, active online communities of Americans around the world.
How is DA financially supported? Do you get donations from abroad?
We are supported by generous donations from our US citizen members as well as Americans living in the US who value our work and see us as a natural, critical resource to tap into a huge number of potential voters.
We also, from time to time, receive small grants from the DNC to help support specific projects.
Special note: We never accept donations from corporations or foreign citizens.
How long has Democrats Abroad been active?
There have been patriotic US Americans abroad since the country’s inception! But as an organization, Democrats Abroad has been continuously active since chapters were first established in Paris and London in 1964.
Source: The Washington Post